Ray Blanco:

Russia Aims To Reclaim Soviet Space Glory With 2036 Launch of Ambitious Venus Mission

Russia is apparently getting ready to return to the searing surface of Venus. The nation wants to launch Venera-D – a multi-vehicle mission involving a lander, balloon and orbiter – to Venus in 2036, Russian state media said last week.

Venera-D has been in the works since 2003, according to RussianSpaceWeb. Once upon a time, before Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Venera-D was even considered as a possible joint mission with NASA.

While NASA is no longer collaborating on Russian space projects (apart from the International Space Station), Russia is still moving forward with Venera-D. The mission is said to be part of a suite of robotic spacecraft Russia plans to send to the moon and Venus, which "currently occupy a central place" in the ambitions of Russian space agency Roscosmos, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with the Razvedchik Journal, which was cited Tuesday by the state-owned Russian outlet TASS.

A new Venus project would extend a series of successful landing missions in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s by previous Venera spacecraft operated by the former Soviet Union.

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Greg Guenthner:

Bitcoin, XRP Surge As Crude Oil Falls to $97

Markets are starting the week on a positive note. As of writing, major crypto assets and U.S. stock futures are trading higher, even as oil markets remain volatile due to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Bitcoin (BTC) is up 3.0%, trading at $73,792.90, while Ethereum (ETH) has jumped 8.1% to $2,280.07, leading gains among major digital assets. Altcoins are also showing strong momentum. XRP is trading 4.0% higher at $1.48, while Solana (SOL) has climbed 6.3% to $93.84.

Nasdaq futures are up 1.16%, while S&P 500 futures have gained 0.94%. Dow Jones futures are also in the green, rising 0.79%.

WTI crude oil futures fell toward $97 per barrel, pulling back after a 17.4% rally over the previous three days as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to impact supply expectations.

Traders appear cautiously optimistic as investors weigh energy market supply disruptions against improving sentiment in risk assets.

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Davis Wilson:

Meta Stock Climbs Nearly 3% on Report of Planned Layoffs To Offset AI Spending

Meta stock climbed about 3% on Monday, following what it called “speculative” reports that the company is planning to lay off over 20% of its workforce to balance its big artificial intelligence spending plans this year.

Reuters reported on Saturday that top executives at the tech giant told senior leaders to start making plans to reduce headcount, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The company’s shares fell nearly 4% on Friday.

When asked whether Reuters’ reporting was accurate, a Meta spokesperson told CNBC: “This is a speculative report about theoretical approaches.”

Meta employed nearly 79,000 employees as of December 2025, and the magnitude of the layoff described could affect more than 15,000 workers. This would be its largest layoff since late 2022, when CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta was cutting 11,000 jobs and paring back hiring as part of an expansive cost-trimming strategy.

Further potential Meta job cuts come as the tech giant doubles down on building out expensive AI infrastructure and reaping efficiency gains from AI integrated into its workflows.

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